ABSTRACT: The standardization efforts for next generation cellular technology or 5G is now at full throttle with early commercial deployments expected for 2020. I will present Qualcomm’s view and efforts on 5G as we approach the final stretch of yet another generational cycle.

BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Roberto Padovani is Executive Vice President and Fellow at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. He joined Qualcomm in 1986 and served as the company’s Chief Technology Officer from 2002 to 2011.

During his tenure at Qualcomm, Dr. Padovani has been involved in the research and development of digital communication systems with particular emphasis on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) wireless technology systems. He was involved in the initial design, development, and standardization of IS-95 CDMA systems. His research and inventions in this field have led to the worldwide standardization and commercialization of CDMA technology for second- and third-generation cellular systems. He has also led the design and development of CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, an IP-based, high-speed wide-area wireless data technology, which led to the deployment of high speed data services on third generation wireless networks across the globe.

Dr. Padovani holds more than 80 patents on wireless systems. He has published numerous technical papers in the digital communications field and was the co-recipient of the 1991 IEEE Vehicular Technology Society Best Paper Award for a fundamental paper on the capacity of CDMA cellular systems. In 2009 he received the IEEE Eric. E. Sumner Award “for pioneering innovations in wireless communications, particularly to the evolution of CDMA for wireless broadband data,” and in 2016 the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal “For innovations enabling efficient, wideband, wireless access to the Internet, that is central to all third-generation cellular networks.” He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006.

Dr. Padovani received a laureate degree from the University of Padova, Italy and MS and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, all in electrical and computer engineering. He is an IEEE Fellow and an Affiliate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, San Diego.